Living Frugally this Summer

One thing that I discovered is that using what you have onhand is a great way to cut your living expenses.  I recently have set aside Wednesdays as the day to plan meals for the week and make my shopping lists and plans of action.  (Thanks to FLYLADY) 

I begin by checking the fridge and looking in the cupboards to see what I already have that I can use to build my meals around.  I have a well stocked pantry, so this is easy.

Once I have some ideas for 3 meals, I go from there.  I cook extra rice, pasta and or potatoes to use for another meal.  With the kids out of school for the summer, we do alot more cooking and eating at home.  

I also concentrate on using up the produce before it goes bad.  We try to have two kinds of veg with each meal, especially dinner.

Preplanning meals saves in time and $.  If you cook ahead, rice, for example, you can save yourself alot of time and energy.  I use a steamer, so it comes out perfect every time.  This week, for instance, I put chicken in the crockpot for a meal one day, and then had leftovers for both chicken salad and soup.  I made rice with beans one night and then had fried rice for the remainder. 

I made a big batch of potatoes, which I  cook with the skins on as they are more nutritious.  I had mashed potatoes with a brisket that I made (also in the crockpot) that night..  I then had leftover pototoes for homefries for breakfast twice.  The kids like to help with cooking and it is great that they are learning to cook and are thinking about using resources wisely.  I also made homemade corned beef hash, which is way better than out of a can.

I am growing a garden this year and have an abundant supply of fresh green beans, onions, berries, herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, etc., and soon eggplant will be ready.

One of my favorite quick meals to do is fried rice.  You can make it with anything.  It can be very simple or you can add lots of stuff.  The fried rice I make is always a big hit.  I put eggs, onions, peppers and whatever fresh vegetables are handy.  This week I had zucchini, mushrooms, fresh sweetcorn and orange and red peppers in it.  It was so colorful!  It was like I have had when I traveled abroad. 

I go to the egg farm for inexpensive eggs.  I get them for 40 cents a dozen and they are fresh.  My family loves omelets, quiche and eggs in any form.  The kids will snack on boiled eggs, like they are candy.  They make devilled eggs and egg salad and it is so much better than all of the other processed junk that is out there.

These things are some of the key things that I have been doing.  I have noticed that I can feed my family for less using these ideas.  Not only that, but we have been having alot of quality family time in the kitchen and the kids are getting to be good cooks.

After dinner we make a game of getting the kitchen cleaned up so we can go do something fun. 

 I am interested in hearing what others do to stretch food dollars and time.